Machine for sheathing spokes of wheels.



L. YOUNG. MACHINE FOR SHEATHING SPOKES 0F WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. l, I915.

1 1,87, 1 20. Patented June 13, 1916.

irm/m5) ulA PLANOGRAPH 60., WASHINGTON D C LEONARD A. YOUNG, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

MACHINE FOR SHEATHING SPOKES OF WHEELS.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented June 13, 1916.

Original application filed. March 15, 1915, Serial No. 14,474. Divided and this application filed December To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LEONARD A. YOUNG, a citizen of the United States,'residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Sheathing Spokes of Wheels, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a machine for sheathing spokes of wheels. The spokes are made up of a wooden core which is provided with a sheathing that can be quickly and efiiciently placed upon the spokes by a machine hereinafter to be described.

This application is a division of applicants Patent No. 1,165,056, dated Dec. 21, 1915, application Serial No. 14,471.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a plan View of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a section on the line A-A of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross section of a lap-welded form of sheathing which can be placed upon the spokes. Fig. 5 is a cross section of a spoke showing a lock-seamed sheathing applied to the spoke by the machine.

The composite spokes which are com pleted by the machine to be described are intended primarily for automobile wheels. The spoke is slightly tapering from the hub end to the rim end. This is the cus tomary shaped spoke used in the so called artillery wheels, but instead of making it of hard wood such as hickory, I make it of a slighly softer and cheaper wood such as maple, which is made possible by the metal sheathing which adds strength to the spoke, which would otherwise not be as strong as one made of hickory.

The sheathings Z) are preferably assembled before they are put into the dies, that is to say, the two halves of such a sheathing as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are put together before the sheathing is placed in the machine. The lap-seamed sheathing of, Fig. 4: is welded together at the seams while the lock-seam shown in Fig. 5 does not require welding.

0 represents the bed of the machine,

Serial No. 64,455.

which is provided in its upper surface with a large wedge-shaped recess (Z in which the two d e blocks 6, e forming wedge halves,

slide. These blocks are guided in their opening and closing movements by the bolts 7' that pass through slots 9 in the blocks, and the sides of the boss that form the recess. Hence when the die blocks are pushed to the left, in Fig. 1, they are constrained to open. This pushing is effected by the pivoted hand lever It which is connected by two links 71 to the tapered ends of the blocks.

By pulling this hand lever h to the left as shown by the dotted'lines of Fig. 1, the die blocks are open andthe'sheathing 7) may be inserted therein and the die blocks closed again by pplling the lever to the right as shown by the full lines of Fig. 1. r

A spoke is placed in the spreadable sectional guide a which comprises two sets of grooved members that are normally yieldingly projected toward each other by the In the spreading and contractmg movements, the two sets of grooved springs j.

members of the guide are guided by a. plurality of pins 70 fastened to each section of the guide members and capable of reciprocating in the cylindrical recesses Z in the table bed. The ends of the guide sections toward the end from which the spokes are inserted are divergent as indicated at m. The divergence substantially corresponds with the hub end of the spoke.

When the spoke has been inserted between the two sets of yielding members of the guide, it is pushed end-wise into the sheathing in the dies by means of the ram or bulldozer n which is here shown in the form of' a rack slidable in a suitable guide 0, although it is of course apparent that other ways of propelling the ram or bulldozer may be employed. The rack engages with the pinion p on the shaft (7. Hence when the shaft is rotated by the application of power to the pulley wheel 9, the ram or bulldozer is quickly driven against the spoke and follows the spoke into the guide and firmly presses the spoke into the sheathing held-in the dies. The ram or bulldozer which is built so the pulley wheels may slip on this when too great resistance is encountered as when the spoke is driven completely home into the sheathing and the dies.

It will be noted that the arrangement of the dies is such as to resist the thrust of the spoke to the best advantage, as when the dies are completely together, they are wedged between the powerful bosses on the machine bed which surround the recess (Z. Consequently the resistance of the ram or bulldozer is ample to withstand the same.

The object in having the twosets of grooved members of the guide yieldingly separate is to allow the passage of the en larged hub end a of the spoke, which as it passes through the guide sections spreads the same.

From the above description of my machine it will be readily understood that the sheathing is very tightly fitted upon the spoke and yet, while it is being tightly fitted upon the spoke, it is given such external pressure that the seams will not separate nor the sheathing be, split by reason of the very heavy internal pressure suffered by the wedging action of the taperedspoke being driven into the tapered sheathing. This external resistance afforded by the dies also serves to drive the seams into the substance of the spoke as is indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. Not only does this tighten the fit and securely lock the sheathing to the wooden spokes, but it also prevents the seams from protruding at the sides of the spoke in an inartistic way.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a pair of dies having recesses shaped to the spoke portions to be ensheathed and adapted to hold the spoke sheathing, and means for driving the spoke endwise into the sheathing and into the opening between the dies, the said dies tending to resist the tendency of the spoke to unduly expand the sheathing, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a pair of spreadable dies havingrecesses shaped to the spoke portions to be ensheathed and adapted to hold the sheathing, and means for driving the spoke endwise into the sheathing and between the dies, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a pair of spreadable dies having tapering recesses shaped to the spoke portions to be ensheathed and adapted to hold a spoke sheathing which is tapered, means for driving a tapered spoke endwise into the tapered sheathing, and tapered recesses of the dies.

4. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a pair of separable dies provided with tapering recesses adapted to hold a tapering sheathing, a plural part yieldingly spreadable guide for guiding a ta- ,combination of a pair of dies, means for supporting and guiding the dies in converging and diverging paths so when the dies are closed they are wedged together, the said dies having suitable recesses for supporting a spoke sheathing, means for moving the dies in their converging and diverging paths to open and close the same, a guide for guiding a spoke into the sheathing between the dies, a ram or bulldozer for forcing the spoke into the sheathing between the dies, and means for reciprocating the ram or bulldozer.

6. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a bed provided with a ta pering recess, a pair of wedge-shaped die blocks guided in said tapering recess, means for forcing said die blocks toward the enlarged end of said recess to open the same and for forcing the die blocks toward the smaller end of the tapering recess to close the same, the said die blocks being provided with recesses suitable to receive a spoke sheathing, means for guiding a spoke into the spoke sheathing in endwise relation, a ram or bulldozer for forcing the spoke endwise into the sheathing between the dies, and means for reciprocating the rain or bulldozer.

7. In a machine for sheathing spokes, the combination of a pair of spreadable dies provided with tapering recesses adapted to receive a tapering sheathing, means for opening and closing the dies, a plural part guide, two sets of the parts of which are yieldingly forced toward each other so as to be spreadable to allow a tapering spoke having an enlarged hub end to be guided into the sheathing by the said guide which spreads to allow the enlarged end of'the spoke to pass through the guide, a ram or bulldozer for forcing the spoke endwise into the sheathing between the dies, and means for reciprocating the ram or bulldozer.

In testimony whereof, I sign this speci- .fioation.

LEONARD A. YOUNG.

Copies of thfi patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G." 

